Old Art New Beat
by artist-pad
Summary: The Sequal to Old Art, New Ink. Following Arthur two years after the events in the last story. Trying to fit back into society is tough. Can he really rejoin society and find his way? All feedback is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

A sound of an alarm clock could be heard going off in a bedroom as a hand moves up to turn the alarm off. The blessing for modern technology with a cell phone is the device being an alarm clock as well. It was 6 am as a male inkling sat up in bed with a sigh.

"Good morning Arthur, it is time for your morning check-up" a computerized voice came from the squid shaped cell phone. The screen changed from the time to a circular sphere that was more a visual representation of itself. The inkling sighed as he looks at his phone and then turns the lamp on.

"I know Oracle I know" Arthur knew the routine by now, it had been a year so far doing this routine.

It had been two years since Arthur was hospitalized after the incident at Sharktooth mountain. Oculus and the Terraformer were gone and now just memories. The medical community learned quite a bit thanks to Oracle and Arthur. More so with Oracle working with doctors and scientist to try making a remedy for the virus that was coursing through the former human. It was determined that the virus had started attacking the mutagen inside Arthur which would cause his mutation to reverse back to a human. The problem has been trying to cure it, however, viruses are difficult to cure in some cases. Oracle managed to come up with a solution that would help Arthur and possibly the entire world in the long run. The treatment was simple enough, a mixture of Inkling or Octarian ink was combined with the mutagen at a high concentration would need to be delivered via a needle into Arthur's blood stream. This way the virus would be held at bay via the ink treatment that originally helped his body become stable at first, and the mutagen to try repairing the damage the virus had done. It took a full year to perfect this treatment for Arthur and it finally looked to be working. But there were a few draw backs.

Arthur pricked one of his fingers with a little device that looked more like a diabetic device used to check blood sugar. The screen displayed a 24.6% mutagen to blood ratio. He sighed as he was sitting at his desk pulling a drawer out with several vials with an orange liquid in them and a small injection gun. Seems the vials were small enough he could load them into the gun for quick administering.

"Great, guess I still have to shoot my leg again" Arthur sighed as he pulled his shorts leg up and took a disinfecting wipe to wipe off a spot. There were a few marks here and there on his right leg indicating the number of times he's injected himself.

"24.6 mutagen to blood level is indeed below the level of concern, 30% or more and things get problematic. At least look at it this way Arthur. You've not had to take an injection for nearly two days straight. This would've been day two if the reading was still fine" Oracle tried to sound optimistic as Arthur lined the small injection gun to his leg and pulled the trigger. He gave a small sound of discomfort as the needle went in and the vial was emptied into his leg.

"Yeah, coming from the guy that doesn't get stuck by the needle" Arthur added though at this point he was more awake than he was a couple of minutes earlier. His voice was a little different in tone, lower than he had two years ago. He even looked a bit more mature in age. Which that came as a side effect. Due to the virus constantly harassing the mutagen that Oracle had made, the mutagen was unable to keep him at the same age that he was originally mutated as. Thus, the mutagen reverted Arthur back to his original age when he was first placed into the pod some 12,000 years ago. Which originally Arthur was an 18-year-old. And that caused a bit of a stir with the family he was technically adopted by at this point, thinking he was younger. Bianca was hoping to have a brother that was a tad younger than her but now had an older brother suddenly.

Speaking of Bianca and her friends, it had been a fun two years as they're all around middle school age and having now gotten through most of their puberty. Her team is still hanging together as friends, class work has increased so their time for turf wars and ranked matches have been limited to weekends when they're all free. Bianca and Jake were still sorta interested in each other, to say the least. At least Arthur's been keeping up with them all, they all did visit him every now and then when he was being hospitalized. They kept him in the loop about new changes going on in Inkopolis including the renovations to the area after the last splatfest pinning the two Squid Sisters head to head. Some things were not clear what happened, but best Arthur could tell some didn't like the outcome to say the least. He did keep in touch with Marie and sometimes Callie just to see how the two are. He was glad that Callie was alright after her Octarian encounter while under the control of DJ Octavio. Easy fix for Callie, Marie just had someone make the glasses she liked to wear so much without all the mind control garbage. So that was nice.

"I hear the sarcasm and understand, it's no more different than sticking a USB stick into a port and dumping all the contents on it into a hard drive" Oracle noted as Arthur took the injector off his leg and pressed on the spot he just stuck himself at.

"I suppose so, just wish I wouldn't need the mutagen anymore and be rid of this damn virus" he really didn't like needles to begin with and this was no better.

"Until your body has grown a resistance to the virus, the mutagen must be in place to-"

"Ensure survivability of the user and to take the antibodies to make a cure, yes yes I know Oracle" Arthur finished what Oracle had begun to say as Oracle merely gave a computerized sigh.

"I can't change that part of my programming and you do realize this quite well. At least you can be glad the treatment is working and you're back home thanks to it" Oracle did want to keep things on the up and up. It could tell Arthur was hating this sort of cell he had to live in.

"Yes I know, but even with that, it's been weird. Home schooled for the first few months and took an exit exam for High School and I passed it. I'm an unemployed worker now and all I have left is my past and my artwork. Not counting you Oracle" Arthur gave a sigh as he got up from the chair seeing his puncture spot had not begun bleeding. He went to the dresser and started looking for a different pair of shorts to wear and a t-shirt. His hair was still a right mess as always but short enough it didn't cause too much trouble in a turf match.

"Not to mention if my activity level is high, I need to inject myself more. But if I'm not pushing my body a bit, nothing changes and I'll never get off this treatment" Arthur added finding a pair of cargo shorts and slips off the jersey shorts he was wearing and getting these shorts on.

"I understand your discontent, thus why today's outing is important. We can finally see how you can fair outside of a controlled environment with the treatment provided. Though I am skeptical if you should try to do any sort of turf wars" Oracle had indeed noticed his discontent and had that in consideration. It would be unfair for Arthur to be locked up inside another "pod", in the figurative sense, after this virus got to him.

"Well, I just can't sit around outside if that would make ya feel better Oracle. You know as much as I do that we should do something at least, if not just a single turf match" Arthur was itching to get his feet back out there if not to at least let some people know he's still alive. Two years away was a long time to some people.

"If you insist then best to pack the pin in case your health starts deteriorate while in a match" Oracle recommended as a precaution. The pen worked like any Epi-pen would except this one could be opened to insert a vial of the mutagen mix he took this morning.

"Have to remind me to pack that alright? Well, guess we should get something done in the mean time" Arthur rummaging through the dresser to find a yellow shirt with a store logo on it and put it on after removing the white t-shirt he was wearing. Taking his phone with him and placing his black hat on his head, he would slip out of his bedroom and out to get something to eat.

Not much has changed in the condo since Arthur's hospitalization had occurred. Grace spent quite a bit of her time at work and home though would drop in on Arthur to see how Arthur was. It eventually led to Grace's husband, Cecil, to make arrangements to work in the office a bit more so he can stay at home while allowing Grace to put her attention to Arthur when he came home. Up until he was capable of moving around on his legs. Given his accident within the Terraformer, he wasn't exactly able to steady himself on his legs for a while. Bianca was a lot of mixed feelings of the whole ordeal. She was hitting her teenage years and she wasn't quite liking having to help with Arthur here and there. But he was "family" now.

"Let's see… Where's the cereal at..." Arthur muttered to himself as he checked the pantry.

"Hey sleepy head may want to skip on that" a voice whispered to him as it made him jump in surprise. Whipping around he would see Bianca standing in front of him. She was around 5ft now but she was still growing. Her blue hair was kept short. She wore a white tank top with a sports jacket over the top. She also had a pair of cream colored shorts on with strapped sandals. She had her Carbon Roller with her though it was folded up with her ink tank by the door. He took a moment to catch his breath.

"Geez Bianca, can ya be a little quieter" he looked back at her blue eyes as she rolled them.

"Pssst, give me a break Arthur. Come on, get your ink tank and bow. I want to blow this place before mom and dad wake up. Ya know how she'll be once she wakes up, worry wart mother over ya" a hint of disgust was in her voice as Arthur grimaced over it. It was true that Grace was worried for Arthur given his health condition, but that may have also put some distance between her and Bianca unintentionally.

"Right, be back in a second" he quickly moved to his room and get his old ink tank and splatbow, which was inside a case thankfully. He grabbed his messenger bag as well with his art supplies and a few other items. But mostly the injection gun, vials of mutagen and an epi pen in case he needed something fast and more immediate. He went out of his room and down the hall, past the kitchen and into the living room to the door of the condo. Bianca was already waiting for him holding her ink tank on the side along with her roller. Took Arthur a moment to get his shoes on as he heads out with her.

"So what's the plan then? Grab a bite as we head into town?" Arthur asked as they were heading out of the complex.

"Look, I want to make this clear. I'm doing this just to satisfy Mother and that dumb AI" Bianca was pretty sharp on her tongue as she seemed to have kept some frustration inside herself towards him.

"The name is Oracle. Bianca, it is important that we know if he can keep himself stable while-"

"Yeah yeah, I hear ya. You don't need to explain this to me. I just want to enjoy this Saturday with my friends. Geez" Bianca got snappy with Oracle, even cutting it off while it was speaking through Arthur's phone.

"Whoa tone it down a bit, didn't mean to get things off on the wrong foot. Look let's just swing by the doughnut shop and get something there" Arthur knew there was one down the street which would be easy for them. Bianca grumbled.

"Fine. Guess I'll be paying too" she was complaining as Arthur shakes his head.

"I have some money, don't worry about. I'll pay" he insisted as she was still in a bad mood.

"Well alright then. Should probably tell ya, before ya go running off into the tower, ya should see Sheldon. Your splatbow maybe… Nah it's definitely out of date. Will have to get a new bow or weapon that's under regs and re-register your stuff" she added walking by him towards the doughnut shop. Arthur listened to her and gave a heavy sigh. Was she seriously that pissed off at him? Was he really being that big of a burden to her? He wasn't sure and wasn't gonna pry at it. Guess time to get doughnuts and then see Sheldon.

The tram ride over to the Inkopolis Square was the same as always. That's the one thing that hadn't changed. Though the silence that Arthur and Bianca were sharing was a bit unsettling. He could remember the first day that Bianca had taken him out to the square. It was actually a little fun, experiencing a new world for the first time. That memory felt distant. Now he felt out of place once more. He was of age to be an adult. Heck, he should be 20 if Oracle hadn't reversed his age and then his body reverted to being an 18-year-old. But seeing he was 18, there seemed to be some different leagues depending on age as well. Arthur had been playing in the Teen League for all matches. This included unranked turf wars and all ranked matches. He was going into the Adult League which was for individuals 17 years and older. This was where the big named teams reside. It's hard as can be apparently. This will be interesting to see how this all goes, hopefully, he wasn't too rusty. The sun was starting to rise as the tram was making its way to the square.

"Well, guess this is where we-" as the tram stopped, Bianca merely got up after checking her phone and left the tram not even acknowledging Arthur. He gave a soft sigh, she was mad. Then again at this point, he should know what he needed to do. With that, he got up with his things and went out onto the square.

The square looked much different structurally, the tower was covered in billboards and screens. The shops looked completely remodeled as well and some sort of fenced in area just beyond the weapon shop. His first business was to check in with Sheldon and see if his bow is up to competing in matches. He could see the various inklings around the square this early in the morning. It sort of was sad given the fact that he had heard Inklings and Octarian having finished working out peace treaties. Though the lack of Octarians was concerning, to say the least. Which sort of reminded him of Octavia, he wasn't sure where she was. He hadn't seen her in a long while. He got to the door of the shop and pushed through, the bell chimes still being the same.

"Welcome to Ammo Knights, what kind of weapon are you in-" the same Sheldon as always. He popped his head from under the counter. Seems he was doing something before he heard the door chimes.

"Are my glasses dirty, or is that my prototype tester Arthur?" Sheldon was surprised to see this inkling back. Then again, Sheldon had only seen him when he was younger and just two years ago. A much older Arthur probably threw a curve ball at the horseshoe crab.

"Yes, it is me, Sheldon. Didn't mean to surprise ya there. I'm wanting to see if this prototype is still good to use for matches or not" Arthur asked as he took the bow case and laid it on the counter. Sheldon would open the case and look at the bow.

"Hmmm, that's a good question. Regulators from the League went after all the companies for making new weapon abilities. So some special weapons have been removed. But where have ya been? I was hoping to get more info with how the bow was handling" Sheldon was having to check a catalog of weapons he had made to see where this bow was at.

"Well, it's complicated. I got ill and been tackling it for the past two years. I'm starting to get better" Arthur answered as he looked around the store. There were some weapons that were completely new to him. He noticed the dual pistol looking blasters. So these are dualies?

"Ill for two years? Great golly! I'm glad you're doing better Arthur. I think the bow should be fine to use. The sub weapon and special are all fine" Sheldon remarked as he closed the case to slide it back to Arthur. The inkling took the case back once he got to the counter.

"So I take it I'm not fresh enough to buy any of the weapons in here huh?" Arthur commented figuring his rank and freshness was zero in the league sense. Sheldon shrugged.

"Most inklings I would say yes. But you seem more capable of using them. So I don't mind if ya buy from me. Though I would try doing some matches before changing up your weapon up" Sheldon was at least was wanting to be helpful to the inkling.

"Oh well thank ya, Sheldon. I'll be heading over to the tower to see what I can get into" Arthur mentioned as he picks up the bow case and looks at the door.

"Best of luck to you Arthur!" Sheldon gave a salute with a smile. Arthur chuckled at the store keeper.

"Will do mate" he went on out to the tower to see how things were. Something in the back of his head was scratching at him though. What if they didn't accept him back into the league? What if he was too 'rusty' to be any good? There was only one way to put those fears aside. Time to see what the league says about his status.

"So my rank has been bumped down to A- and my turf level has been set to zero, is that correct?" Arthur was asking the jellyfish at the registration desk. The jelly was wearing a purple t-shirt with a past splatfest theme on it.

"Eyup. Most had to have their ranks in the league completely reset to zero. That's for the teen league. Adult league, we keep your rank at a specific point. But that doesn't mean you can't be knocked backward into a lower rank in the league" the jelly clarified as Arthur nods. That part he did understand at the very least.

"Fair enough, thank you for your time" he thanked the jelly as the jelly smiled and waved.

"You're quite welcome, splat safely" the jelly would return back to work as Arthur went over to try doing some turf wars. Turf was an all around match mode where someone could get a good idea what to expect from a league. So Arthur would log on and go into a match.

He was transported via a pipeline that went to Inkblot Art Academy. He honestly was surprised when he spawned in on the pad that he was here. He had heard about the academy nonetheless. Should apply to this school at some point. He looked around him and saw his team spawning in. Some were dressed in the freshest clothes from the Galleria, which compared to Arthur, he looked antique. A female inkling was looking at him as she was wearing a tank top with a sports bra on with tight shorts. She had a hair pin holding her two larger tentacles back in a low ponytail as had had a pair of Dapple Dualies. She was mostly looking at the bow that Arthur had.

"A Splatbow? Haven't seen those used in ages" she commented as one of the guys look at him with a raised eyebrow. This guy he couldn't tell what he was looking at as he was wearing a full gas mask with an Octobrush.

"Last time I've seen one was about two years ago when some kid went from C rank to S in a very short time span" the guy mentioned as the other was not paying him too much mind. They had a Rapid Blaster and wearing a safari hat and tactical vest with a shirt and shorts. The Octobrush user was wearing a tactical vest as well but had pants on too.

"Yeah, I've had it for a while. Just hope I'm still good with it, haven't been in the circuit for a while" Arthur mentioned as he checked his pocket really quick, he did have his epi-pen with him in case he started feeling terrible.

"Oh? Did we get a newbie here? That's just great" the inkling with the Rapid Blaster complained as the Octobrush user rolled his eyes.

"Go in with that attitude and we'll lose for sure" the Octobrush looked back to the inkling that was complaining. The match was about to start.

"Well, better be ready to go. We hit hard out here. The name's Sofia, what's yours?" the female inkling looked at him as she looked ready to run off the pad as the last 10 seconds were counting down.

"The name's Arthur. Nice to meet ya Sofia" Arthur would get to say before the whistle blew and the match began. The team split into different directions as the Octobrush went to the side starting to cover turf, the blaster user went off down a side alley as Sofia went onward going mid but then going left. Arthur figured he should go mid given he might be able to get a good spot to splat people from a far. So throwing a suction bomb and firing his bow a few times, he started making his way across the turf. He got down to a statue that was half way to the middle of the map to their spawn. Arthur moved up onto a ledge and started taking shots from his spot to try getting a few spots covered, trying to give his teammates something to work with. Though from the side he saw a male inkling on the opposing team. Arthur was on the green team and the enemy was purple. The inkling was using a Dynamo Roller, a very powerful roller that can fling ink a great distance. The guy wore a black muscle shirt with a gold chain around his neck. Baggy white pants with sneakers and he had shades on with his hair spiked up. He had a deep tan on his skin as Arthur took aim to the guy. Arthur knew Dynamo Roller's could cover a lot of ink when they flung it, but they couldn't hit distance.

"This should be no problem" Arthur commented to himself as he drew the bow back taking aim. Though at that moment the guy looked at Arthur as if knowing he was being targeted. The inkling merely smirked as Arthur took a shot. The orb of ink shot out making a line of ink where it flew over before landing. Sadly, the inkling jumped to the side and pulled his roller over his shoulder as if taking aim. But the roller was folded up.

"Why is he…?! Shi-!" was all Arthur could say before the inkling threw the ink from their Dynamo Roller splattering Arthur from afar with no problems.

"Ya got Clancy'd! Chargers, too easy to knock out hah!" the inkling muttered as Arthur was being sent to spawn. Once spawned in, Arthur sat on the spawn being dumbfounded.

"So people realized you can do that?! Guess kids aren't as smart as adults after all. They're learning" a sigh of annoyance was present. He didn't feel bad at that moment as he checked his little mini-map. Found that Sofia had dropped a beacon in a safe spot for people to jump. Maybe he should be more mobile with his bow, after all, he could pull it back fast.

"Let's jump here" with that Arthur would change to his squid form and launch over to the beacon. The flight was pretty quick as Arthur had a suction bomb ready in case someone from the enemy team found it. Which seemed there was some enemy ink nearby. Though just as Arthur was landing, the same inkling that had splat him earlier came out of the ink and swung his massive roller. The roller would pin Arthur against a set of blocks meant to be a smaller statue near a tree on his side of the map.

"Well look who it is again? Can't get enough of Clancy can't ya? Dry little scrub wanting to get some ink?" so this guy's name was Clancy huh. Arthur could think of other words to describe him as he felt the enemy ink piercing at him.

"How about ya mess off and finish what ya started" Arthur threw his suction bomb as Clancy smiled.

"Gladly little fish" with that Clancy pulled his roller back causing Arthur to fall off the blocks. But instead of splatting, Clancy kicked Arthur in the gut, pushing the inkling over his own suction bomb, covering the explosion. With that done, Clancy would slam his roller down on Arthur splatting him.

"He's gonna be a nice splatting bag" Clancy smirked to himself as he starts to cover turf. Arthur knew this was gonna be a rough day wasn't it?

The rest of the day was like this. For whatever reason, Arthur was being placed against Clancy fellow. And every match, this guy would target just him. And all the stuff the guy was saying was getting on Arthur's nerves. They were hurtful words. The ink can be wiped away, words can sink in deeper than ink. Though while he was in a match on Sturgeon Shipyard, he was having issues as he felt his breathing getting harsh. He looked to a spot he could hide out. He took a corner that was down low to sit down and check his blood with the monitor.

"Crap, over 34%" he put the monitor up and grabbed his EpiPen and stuck himself with it quickly as he felt the solution going through his veins from his leg. He winced for a moment though a shadow appeared over him as he looked up just to see a Dynamo Roller slamming down on his face.

"Allergic to being a rear fin? Should stay in spawn so ya don't get an allergic reaction" Clancy mocked as Arthur was splatted and then sent back to spawn. The EpiPen was fine once Arthur arrived to spawn. But he stood there processing what had happened as he was sort of lost. Here he was having a medical emergency and this guy had no concern about that. It was the last straw. Arthur was rarely a bad sport, but he took his league card out and set it to head back to the tower. He needed to take a major break and reporting someone. Hopefully, the officials would listen to him.

"What you mean I'm getting an hour ban?!" Arthur's voice was irate as he looked at the inkling behind the counter as he was managing the access of participants. The guy had a single tentacle going down one side of his face with glasses on. Wearing a similar attire as the jellyfish Arthur spoke with earlier. His red eyes rolled listening to this complaining inkling.

"You dropped a match before it was over when ya do that we now have to ban people for a certain amount of town. It's a new rule for a while now" the worker said as he tried to remain calm with an angered inkling.

"Right, and what about that inkling I was telling ya about? Clancy" Arthur was going for his complaint as the worker merely sighed.

"All I can do is write a report and send it up to other regulators to review the complaint" the worker was saying the very basic that he could do.

"Ya mean you can't do a thing for a guy that has been harassing me match after match, physically abusing another player and mocking them? I believe that falls into the category of unsportsmanlike behavior" Arthur argued though a voice he didn't want to hear came up.

"Oh but come on buddy, I just want ya to get better" Arthur turned his head to see Clancy looking as smug as can be but offering a smile. A fake smile as the 5'6" inkling came over to nod to the inkling behind the desk.

"Better?! You joking me! The last match I was having a medical emergency" Arthur remarked as Clancy looked sorry.

"Oh, you were having a medical problem? Geez, I didn't know really bro. If I knew I would've held back some" Arthur heard those words on deaf ears. He could tell Clancy didn't care.

"I would suggest if there was a medical issue, alert the refs and we'll take a moment to address the condition and conclude the match as a draw" the worker seemed to be going along with Clancy as Clancy smiled.

"Yeah see, if ya did that you would be fine man" Clancy smiled as he knew he had beaten this shorter inkling. Such a scrub.

"Well back to business, I need to see your card Arthur," the worker said holding a hand out to take Arthur's league card.

"Arthur huh? Sorry, ya got that ban buddy. You'll get gud eventually" Clancy added with a smirk chuckle. Arthur had enough as he looked at the card and then at them both.

"The only person that needs to 'get gud' is your attitude ya filthy rear octarian tentacle" Arthur snapped just as he bent his card in half snapping the electronic card in half slamming it onto the table. The worker was shocked from the words and actions as Clancy was wide eyed.

"What did you- You little!" Clancy tried to throw a punch to Arthur. But he was already expecting it, side stepped and grabbed the arm. Using the punch that Clancy had thrown, Arthur was able to pull Clancy over his back and slamming him down onto the tile flooring.

"That was for all the shit ya told me in the matches. I'm done with this league. If you guys can't even moderate rear fins like this, then I don't need to be here" Arthur had enough of this as he left the tower after getting his stuff. He didn't wait for Bianca either as it was just around 2 pm. He looked at his ink tank and looked at the nearby trash can in front of Ammo Knights. The threw the ink tank away but kept the bow and case. Sheldon was finishing setting something up as he noticed Arthur throwing the ink tank away. The surprise caught the shop keeper off guard, tripping over his own display and messing it up. Arthur didn't want to think. He had it at this point. Who was he kidding? He wasn't worth being in turf wars. He wasn't "fresh" enough. He wasn't the best nor was going to be. He knew his artwork online could fetch him a good price. He had done that to save money for himself. Just like back home. Even this world didn't care for those that are on the short end of the stick. He got on the next tram and started making his way back home.

"Arthur, are you alright? Your vocal levels indicate high stress" Oracle asked as it had been listening to Arthur the entire time and conversation he just had at the tower.

"Yes I am stressed!" thankfully Arthur got an empty car to himself.

"Heightened stress levels can increase your risk of the virus spreading" the AI added calmly.

"I KNOW!" Arthur was tearing up as he felt the past poking back at him.

"I want this to stop. I want to feel like a somebody again. I-I… I hate this" Arthur said as he looked down at his lap at his phone.

"You hate this? I don't understand" Oracle sounded confused.

"This isn't me Oracle. You know this. I'm not an Inkling. I'm not some squid hybrid. I'm a human! We know this! I have to fit some mold that I won't ever fill, nor never will. Why? Cause I'm not an inkling, not at heart" Arthur was clenching his fist as he tried to keep himself together. Oracle sat there thinking.

"This isn't what Mary would've wanted" the inkling's eyes went wide and the sorrow was quickly turning to anger.

"Did you-Leave her out of this Oracle!"

"I'm saying that she would've wanted you to be happy and to make others happy too" Oracle was going to say more but the phone was thrown onto the floor.

"Structural damage detected" Oracle commented as the phone was met with Arthur's foot.

"You leave her out of this! I know what she wished from me. I was there. I was there when she died! You only know this cause I told you" Arthur was in an unstable mood as Oracle seemed to be looking at him through the camera part of the phone.

"But you're acting just like Mr. Fate" that pushed Arthur over the edge as Arthur slammed his foot onto the phone breaking it.

"I AM NOT LIKE HIM!" he shouted as he looked at the window as the tram went under a hill. The window showed a reflection of himself in it. Though as Arthur looked on, the reflection that he saw was of himself. The reflection looked at him and rolled his eyes. The reflection spoke otherwise which by the time the tram went out of the hill, he looked down to see his busted phone. Oracle wouldn't be using this anytime soon. He couldn't believe, he was this distraught. This angry. Part of it was over people, part of it was himself. He was better than this. But how can you be something you're not?

The rest of the way home he remained quiet as he cleaned up the phone and brought it back to him at home. Cecil was out running an errand leaving Grace home. She was working on her laptop in the living room when Arthur came in.

"Hm? Oh hello, Arthur" she smiled at him before noticing something was off. One being his lack of ink tank and her daughter.

"Arthur, where's Bianca?" she asked as Arthur shrugged.

"She ditched me when her friends got to the square this morning. I've had a rough day… Oracle and I got into a fight on the tram back home and I went a bit too far on him..." he showed the phone as she looked shocked.

"Arthur Sketchink, what is the meaning of this? I've never seen you do something like this, what happened?" Grace placed her laptop down as he sighed.

"Grace, you shouldn't worry about me. You should be more worried about Bianca as she's felt neglected since I became sick. I've been a loading on your family for the past two years. Today I realize I can't keep up like this. I have managed to put money into my account with artwork online, and I have enough I can get an apartment" he told her not going further with it.

"So you're giving up on battling in turf wars then?" Grace leaned to one side with a hand on her hip. She couldn't treat Arthur like a child as he was an adult.

"Yes I have and tomorrow starts my job hunting and apartment hunting" Arthur was stern in his words. But on the inside, he was crying. He felt pain, he wanted to belong. Though this was drowned in the sea of stress that Arthur had kept inside for all these years.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Arthur kept his word and began looking for apartments. Though he would go to the phone store and get himself a new phone. He needed to get his own phone plan. He wished they hadn't imported all his previous contacts they had saved on their systems to his new phone. He had several questions about this practice but that was for another time.

Arthur was a talented artist back in his human days and he had skills in this world as well. Kinda made his work unique as inklings would fantasize what humans were like. He could keep his facade of just being an inkling with a wild imagination about human society and their so-called "Anime" stuff. At least it was a good idea in his mind. And if inklings bought into it and wanted him to draw in that style, then so be it. As he was out he was looking for apartments. He figured that he would have enough to get his own place hopefully. He didn't ask either Cecil or Grace for help, he wasn't in the mood to work with them. So for the majority of the morning out in Inkopolis trying to find a place.

"Ugh, why must this be such a challenge?" Arthur complained to himself as he slumped down in the cafe booth on the other side of town. He was sitting at a booth table in the corner during the end of the lunch rush. He had papers scattered around with possible places to find an apartment. Apparently, he was not having any luck as he sighed. A large window was next to him as he looks out of the window. He could see his reflection as the inkling he was. Though one second he was an inkling, the next he was imagining himself as a human.

"What did you expect? Free rooms?" his human reflection was looking at Arthur. A 5'4" human wearing the same clothes as him. Though he had short messy brown hair though with ocean blue eyes.

"No, I wasn't. We know it's not easy" Arthur remarked rolling his eyes.

"Well there is one easy thing to do" his reflection rubbed its chin not following Arthur's own actions.

"No I'm not going there" the inkling's voice was stern as the reflection shrugged.

"What ya got to lose?" his reflection asked as Arthur feel quiet.

"Look at us. We were told 200 years, right? Instead, we got 12,000 years and everything we were prepared for was overturned. No one remembers us. And what became of us? A mutated freak that looks, talks, and even smells like them. But that blood and that mind is far from them" his reflection went on as Arthur was having to sit in the reality of things.

"We were used without our knowledge to try bringing humanity back" Arthur kept a calm tone though his reflection snapped back at him.

"Oh yeah, you mean the thing you basically destroyed. Oculus and the terraformer were the only ways of redoing what had been done. You turned your back on humanity" his reflection crossed its arms looking away from the inkling.

"I did not turn my back on them!"

"Are you so sure?" his reflection looked back at the inkling who was irritated by himself.

"Yes, we had our shot at the world and we failed. Humanity made these hybrid organisms to allow some form of life survive after the virus" Arthur was slowly doubting himself as his reflection rolled its eyes.

"So you would be fine letting them copy our DNA then huh? So that means parts of our mannerisms could be imparted just because certain DNA strands lead to different personalities. So that would entail that all the good and bad of humanity gets passed along too hm?" his reflection was taking a specific path with its argument as Arthur shifted a bit in his seat.

"Which that would mean inklings and all others can be just as bad as your father. Which, has been proven by that one with the giant roller" his reflection smiled.

"However I think you reflect your father best when mad" Arthur got defensive once his reflection spoke those words.

"I'm not like him!" a stern statement from the inkling as the reflection got closer in the window towards him.

"I know you wanted to do more to that inkling then ya did. I could see it all laid out. But instead of dealing with your problems, you merely ran away. Busted that silly card and smashed your phone in a rage. Like a child, without being under the influence of any liquor" Arthur was about to punch the window but his arm didn't commit to the swing as the reflection just smiled at him. Deep inside, the reflection was right. Arthur didn't want to deal with problems so instead of fixing them, he moves away and tries to make a new. But alas, not even 12,000 years can resolve some problems. Arthur's face was distraught and nearly at a point where he could break down though the artist didn't.

"You can punch me, lock me away, throw me out, hide me, do whatever you want. It won't solve the problems. And I'll still be here" his reflection merely smiled in a smug manner.

"Umm excuse me sir?" a female voice could be heard from behind Arthur. The only thing to snap him out of his daydream. Arthur did daydream every now and then when he was under stress. He turned to look to see who was speaking to him. It was Sophia, the inkling he saw just yesterday. Now he could see her ink color was actual cyan. Hard to tell anyone's personal ink color when in any kind of match.

"Oh yes, sorry I was daydreaming" he apologized quickly unsure if there was an issue. She did take note of all the classifieds laying on the table.

"You were muttering to yourself for the past few minutes and you've not ordered anything at this point sir" Sophia was wearing a t-shirt with the cafe logo on it with tan pants as there was a small apron around her waist to hold some of her supplies for her job. He looked a tad uneasy when she made mention he was muttering to himself. Did she overhear him?

"I'm sorry if I was bothering other customers" it was the first thought that came to his mind as she shakes her head.

"No no, you're fine sir. Do you mind if I call you Arthur?" she was being formal though it seemed she wanted to tear that business face down. He gave her a nod as she sits down in the booth across from him.

"It's slow at the moment so I can do this Arthur. I know who you are. I looked up your ID at the league. You're that kid that jumped basically into S rank with no trouble. An underdog" Sophia was leaning on the table as he sighed leaning into the cushion in the booth he was sitting in.

"I was never called an underdog but thanks, I guess" he wasn't sure what to say as she was still thinking.

"I also saw you had deactivated the ID card of yours on the same day we met. What happened?" a voice of concern hung with her words. Something happened to cause Arthur to deactivate his account. He gave a groan as he shrugged the notion off.

"I've been out of the league for two full years and into a brand new league. I ran into a person that basically targeted me the entire match and the following matches too" he looked down at the ads in front of him.

"Figured it would be best for me to put turf wars and the league behind me and focus on actually having a life" an honest statement and not a bad wish to have. Though most would probably want to have their life together rather than just having a "life". Then again, this society was changing faster then he could keep up. Sophia was thinking as she was looking at the ads for apartments as she thinks.

"I hear ya Arthur. It's hard to sometimes make it when you're at the top of the ranks. In the adult league, some players can be rougher than others. Clancy is one such inkling" she was mulling it over as she knew who Arthur was mentioning.

"You know him?" a tad surprised from Arthur but he shouldn't be.

"Yup, biggest jerk around in the league. Basically sits at the top and treats everyone badly with no consequences on him. But ya can't let one guy just tear ya down. So what sort of apartment are ya looking for?" she was looking to take the topic off league for now. She would want to get Arthur back to going into matches at some point. Why convince someone to go back to something they're not comfortable with? Confidence is hard to build sometimes.

"I was thinking of maybe a two bedroom apartment. Anywhere in Inkopolis would work" Arthur was looking over the stuff he had thrown around all over the table.

"Well, my brother told me his neighbors are moving out. The complex is a good one on the other side of town, Salmon Peaks if I remember right" Sophia was clicking her tongue as to remember.

"I already looked they said they had no openings" he already went down that road already with them.

"Oh? That's a bunch of barnacles. They probably haven't made the room available yet" landlords really needed to get their acts together on posting possible openings.

"Ya don't say? I should be fine don't worry about me" Arthur didn't want to drag her into this mess as she wasn't taking none of it.

"Seriously, just give it a chance. Tell ya what I'll poke my brother about the possible apartment and see if he can't get the landlord to let ya see the room before they post it up on the market. Just need your number" she was wanting to help him. More cause he looked lost trying to find a place. Arthur, on the other hand, didn't want the added help. He wanted to show that he could indeed handle what was going on inside his life. But at the same time, anything to get a lead or head start on something is better than having none. He took a napkin and scribbled his number down and handed it to her.

"Here ya go, Sophia, wasn't expecting this but I appreciate it" he didn't want to say it but he was grateful she was helping him. She smiled taking the number and pocketing it.

"Trust me, it's hard finding a place here in Inkopolis. Just don't beat yourself over it okay?" She started to get up and pats his shoulder.

"I'll give that a try when I'm not a sitting duck on the field" he was being sarcastic as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah I hear ya, take care and I'll be giving ya a call in a day or so" Sophia had to go to her work before her boss gets after her.

"Yeah, take care" he resumed to looking at his stuff and gave a half smile looking at the ads. At least he had a chance now. He should probably head back home to get some things packed up on the off chance he manages to land a place. He looked back to the window and could see his human reflection still. The reflection had his arm's crossed and looked disgusted. "Geez, you were a real pushover there mate. You didn't want the help but she insisted didn't she?" his reflection was mocking him as Arthur sighed annoyed. He gathered his stuff and proceeded to head out. He didn't eat anything, just had some water. He did leave a little tip on the table for the server. For the trouble of having him there. His reflection just grinned watching him leave. For a moment, the reflection's eyes had a red glint to them as he too vanished as Arthur moved out of the cafe.

It took a couple of weeks but Arthur was able to get a hold of the landlord thanks to Sophia and her brother's help. The apartment wasn't bad for a two bedroom apartment on the third floor of a four-story apartment complex. He did meet Sophia's brother, Mark. Wasn't a bad guy either that worked shifts at Grizzco. At least on the plus side, the apartment was affordable. The question was furnishing it which that was always a problem. Of course, moving was a whole another problem. At the moment Arthur was packing up boxes as he was humming to himself. He had most of the stuff he was taking was packed up. A knock could be heard from the door frame as he looked up. It was Grace standing there at the door.

"Hey, the moving van just showed up downstairs" her voice was calm, arms crossed as she leaned against the door frame. She didn't want him to leave as a mother of course.

"Alright thanks, Grace" Arthur was finishing up the last box as he had his messenger bag full of personal belongings. He already had his league weapons packed up as well though he lacked an ink tank now. He still needed to find a job though, but that may come later.

"You don't have to leave Arthur, Cecil and I are more than happy to-" "It's fine Grace" His voice sliced right into Grace's sentence with no problem.

"I made my decision to go through with this and I'm not swaying from it. I need my own place. I'm 18 and I should be out on my own. I appreciate the things you and your family have done for me" a sigh came from him as he was thinking.

"But I need to move on. I'm not like other inklings nor will I ever be. I have to accept that and being around other inklings will just make things more difficult" Part of him didn't want to leave honestly. But another side of him said he needed too. He had to get moving on with his life. Grace sighed as she thought over her words.

"We know that. You've been living with us for over two years, we know you're not normal and that's alright. I'm not going to stop your desire to move out. I'm just concerned with this sudden change" her words were calm but under that shell was someone who was worried. He had never acted like this over the past two years. Then again he was disabled for some time having his legs messed up. Arthur fell silent for a few moments before he shakes his head. "I… Thank you Grace" he wanted to say something else but couldn't find the words he was looking for. Somehow misplaced somewhere in his mind. She gave him a nod and went down to pick up a box.

"Want a hand?" she asked kindly with a half smile. She really didn't want him to go, but she wasn't going to stop him either.

"I would appreciate that, thank you" he offered a half smile grabbing a box as well to head out. It was going to be interesting finally living on his own. It took about an hour to get his things into the moving truck. He wasn't taking the furniture that he had been using from Grace's family. He didn't want to take anything more from them. Plus he had already bought some furniture to go into the apartment before Grace and Cecil offered to send the furniture over. With all his things into the van, he made his goodbyes, not seeing Bianca once. She had gone turfing with her friends have moved on from even caring about him. Once he was done, he got into the moving truck with the movers and drove on to the apartment.

The drive and move to the apartment wasn't too bad. He was staying at a place called 'Salmon Coast Apartments', a decently sized apartment complex with a couple of four-story apartment buildings. Arthur had room 315, a two bedroom apartment with a balcony view. He was lucky getting this spot as the complex sat on a bit of a rise on the opposite side of town. He got a good view of Inkopolios from where he was from the balcony and he got it for a steal thanks to the help he got from Sophia and her brother Mark. The landlord was waiting, a shark looking kind of fellow, as Arthur got there with the moving truck. The inkling signed a couple of papers and was finally able to get a key to the apartment. He thanks the landlord and went on upstairs with the movers as he unlocked the apartment. He looked around the apartment and it was still in good shape. The walls were light blue as he walked right into the living room. A breakfast bar separated the kitchen from the living room with a bit extra space to put a table next to the kitchen. The balcony was next to the 'dining' area with a small balcony as the description said there would be. There were two halls. The hallway closest to the front door had a small bedroom on the left, a bathroom on the right side with a small closet with it. A closet was next to the bathroom that housed the washer and dryer units there. The next hallway was a mirror of the opposite side which the entrance was next to the dining area. This bedroom was a tad larger on the right side of the hall. Even had a window to look outside. The door on the left went into the same bathroom. It was an odd design, bathroom with double doors on either side. It was an odd design but made the bathroom a tad bigger than most. At least he got a separate shower and tub. It didn't take long before Arthur and the movers having the stuff inside his apartment. The movers left fairly quickly as they were going to pick up the furniture that Arthur had ordered. Arthur went along with them to make sure things went smooth. Thankfully it all was running smoothly as he sat back to watch as it was the most he could do. All the while he sighed as he watched the movers moving the furniture around. He should be happy but something felt… missing. Something that he had placed somewhere but now was gone apparently. It didn't feel right to him.

The movers took their time getting the furniture into the apartment with a little help from Arthur here and there on where to put stuff. He finally had a furnished living room, the mattress was in the larger bedroom with his desk and bed frame not assembled, and a table with chairs in the dining area. The movers left after Arthur wrote them a check for their service. Now Arthur was to himself to start well unpacking. It was pretty late and he hadn't gotten dinner yet. He sighed thinking about it as he had no food what so ever. At least he had a working fridge but nothing was in it. Well, of course, there wouldn't be he just moved in. Guess he should order delivery, maybe some Chinese. There was a noodle shop not far that did delivery. Though before he could call them, there was a knock on the door. He was unsure who was knocking. He did pay the movers, so who the heck was it? Arthur walked up to the door answering it. He saw no one at first as he looked around. He shrugged and closed the door. Though when he closed it, he heard a thud and a small 'ow'. Arthur paused as he opens the door again and looks down. He nearly jumped right out of his skin seeing a Salmonid. A blue head finned Salmonid was standing there, it rubbed its nose. It was wearing a pair of green shorts if Arthur could call those things shorts.

"Oh erm… Sorry I didn't see ya the-"

"Owie why did you do that Markie?" the complaining Salmonid said looking up at Arthur. He was perplexed.

"Markie? No, I'm Arthur" the inkling was definitely confused. Last time he remembered, Salmonids weren't anywhere near Inkopolis.

"Billy! Geez, I told ya to wait up" a familiar voice came down from the hall. Arthur looked down to see Mark quickening his pace to get to where Billy was. Mark was a bit older than Arthur with short tentacles that he kept down. He had two larger tentacles that went on either side of his head but they didn't pass his cheeks. He was wearing a blue shirt with Grizzco on it and black shorts. He also had an old looking beret hat on.

"Mark?" Arthur was a tad more surprised as Billy looked towards Mark.

"Markie! We have an intruder! He broke into our apartment!" Billy was frantic as Mark did notice Arthur when his name was mentioned.

"Oh hey Arthur, wasn't expecting ya so soon. Shell, Billy that isn't an intruder and our room is the next door down remember?" Mark pointed down the hall, namely to the next door on the right. Billy looked down a tad surprised.

"Oh, right okie dokie" Billy seemed quite happy as he waddled his way to the proper door. Mark sighed as he shakes his head.

"Sorry about that Arthur, didn't know you were moving in today. Would've dropped in earlier to help ya move in mate" Mark gave him a smile as his blue eyes moved past Arthur seeing the boxes and furniture.

"Dang, literally just finished getting the stuff in huh?" Arthur chuckled at Mark's follow up comment.

"Yeah, I was about to order out delivery. See if the local noodle shop will do delivery" Arthur had his phone in hand as Mark was thinking.

"Ah alright. Well just drop by anytime if ya need anything man. Still can't believe you're the zero to S kid from two years ago. Most don't even make it that far so ya gotta be doing something right" Mark had to keep an eye on Billy as he knew what sort of trouble that fish could cause.

"Heh, yeah you can say that. Though I think I'm out for the count" Arthur didn't like being reminded of what he was able to do in the league as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I heard what happened from sis. Give me a buzz sometime if ya ever wanna turf, I don't mind doing a few matches and help ya get back on your feet" Mark was almost as encouraging as his little sis. Arthur wanted to say no, but he couldn't turn down the encouraging words.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" Arthur gave a small smile.

"Dis one Markie?" Billy called down from the hall. He was already on the other end!

"No Billy! Geez, get back here! Sorry, he's a bit of a handful" Mark was a tad embarrassed as Arthur looked down the hall to see Billy.

"He's a different kind of Salmonid isn't he?" Arthur raised an eyebrow figuring that fish wasn't the brightest but that didn't stop that guy no matter what.

"Eyup, long story but yeah just drop on by anytime" Mark waved to Arthur as he hurried down the hall before Billy started banging on every door in the place. Crazy fish. Arthur waved Mark a goodbye as he closed the door and sighed to himself. He put the phone number of the noodle shop and ordered delivery. It was a pretty low key night after that. He got the bed some-what made. He just worked getting internet set up and planning to simply sleep on a mattress for the night. He was tired after the move, at least the food was good. He got into bed to get some shut-eye for tomorrow, it was going to be a long day unpacking. Dreams were a difficult thing to come across as he finally got to sleep.

"So, ya seriously going to take up that Inkling up on his offer?" a familiar voice rang out in the darkness of the dream.

"I may I'm still thinking about it" Arthur responded back as he was dreaming, he wanted to merely drift in his sleep not talk to this voice.

"Right, so you can be showed up? Why bother with them still? They're just squids" the voice sounded a lot like Arthur.

"Drop it please, I don't want to talk" Arthur shuffled in the bed as he slept uneasy about this voice.

"Still just running away huh? Fine, coward" the voice mocked as Arthur sighed. He didn't want to listen to what his inner thoughts were thinking at that moment. He wanted to get settled in and fast. Though living alone sucked too. But tomorrow was a brand-new day. Hopefully, things go well.


	3. Chapter 3

The following day was fairly busy for the artist as he had to get his bed and desk put together. That included the unpacking process as he had to load his new furnishings, like a dresser, with clothes that he wore. The kitchen was a nightmare, to say the least, as he spent basically the whole day alone working on getting the apartment situated. It was tiring and by around 3 pm he needed a break. Though he had to get some grocery shopping done as he had no groceries so to speak of in the place. But he had his bedroom mostly put together with the bed together and desk. The kitchen was next once he got food in the fridge. So with that, he got himself together wearing a pair of pants and a blue t-shirt with an earth green jacket over top. He knew the weather was cold as he got his scarf on and placed a hat on his head before heading out. At least the local supermarket wasn't too far from his apartment.

As he was heading out he caught a glimpse of the local newspaper. He looked at the headline which read "Inkling and Octoling Peace Achieved". He raised an eyebrow looking at the paper for a bit. Seems that peace treaty that was being pushed for some time finally made it through. He remembered about recently that Octolings were making it to the surface after an incident occurred offshore of Inkopolios. A huge statue had come out of the water and was poised to attack the city. But the statue was taken down in a matter of minutes once it was realized it was hostile. He remembered the news report back home as reporters were getting all sorts of reports that the statue was being run by what it seemed to be an AI. It was a tad sad though as Arthur thought about it. Something as old as he and couldn't change along with the tides.

Though he continued onward despite being lost in thought. It was no surprise that he ran right into another person as he came to a crosswalk. He lurched forward as he hit the person but soon got his balance and back steps away.

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize you were there" a quick apology came from him as the gal he ran into turned to look at him. She had a companion with her and it was evident both were Octolings.

"Oh, it's alri-! Arthur!? Is that you?" it was a familiar voice from a familiar face. Arthur was a bit surprised seeing the Octoling girl he had ran into was Octavia. He had seriously lost touch with her since his time in the hospital. She was wearing her hair up as a normal high ponytail with seaweed holding it together, studio headphones were hung around her neck while she wore a Layered Anchor LS shirt, blue jeans and amber sea slug hi-top tennis shoes. A large purple purse was hanging off one of her shoulders. Her deep blue eyes sparkled as she smiled.

"Octavia?! Wasn't expecting to see you here Oh my fish" he instinctively went for a hug which she responded giving him a hug as well smiling.

"So this is the 'human' you were telling me about sis?" the Octoling boy was watching the two as he looked younger than both of them. The boy stood only about an inch shorter then Arthur as the boy had the same matching ink color as his sister. He wore a house-tag denim cap over his head so couldn't tell what his hair was doing. A custom painted F-3 jacket, blue jeans and brown trail boots on his feet. He also shared the same blue eyes that Octavia had.

"Yes, he is. Arthur I would like ya to meet my younger brother, Oliver" Octavia was still giddy over the fact she ran into Arthur once more. There were a lot of questions she had unanswered given the data they were able to pull out of the wreckage of that giant statue. Though that was for another time.

"Pleasure to meet ya Oliver" Arthur offered a faint smile as he looked at the younger Octoling. Honestly, first time seeing a male Octoling, had to admit he was kinda cute.

"Yeah, it is" The boy Octoling was pretty soft-spoken though as he watched the inkling.

"So what brings you guys up here? I guess that treaty worked out huh?" the inkling was smiling a bit as he looked at them both. Olivia gave a nervous smile as she sighed.

"Yeah guess it did. I wasn't expecting it to work honestly but it's working to some degree. But where have you been? I've been meaning to get a hold of you for the past few weeks but your number doesn't seem to be working, what happened?" Octavia pulled her phone out while she spoke as Arthur felt immediately guilty.

"O-Oh, yeah my phone… Yeah, it got stolen and I wasn't able to get it back. Had to get a whole new phone with a new number. Sorry, would ya like my new number?" he was quick to try making amends with Octavia.

"Sure I would appreciate it" she smiled letting him have her phone so he could update his number on her phone. Oliver was listening and didn't seem to convince by Arthur's story. Sure people lose their phones, but couldn't he just get his number re-instated on a new phone?

"Alright here ya go" Arthur handed the phone back as Octavia pockets it.

"Appreciate it, so where ya been all this time?" she seemed eager to know more.

"I recently moved into a new apartment in Salmon Peaks. Was actually heading to the grocery to get some food to stock up" Arthur had to admit he wasn't quite ready to have guests at his place. At least that's what he thought.

"I mean, I've not heard from ya since seeing ya in the hospital. I was hoping to get a text or something after ya got out" Her voice hinted she was a tad disappointed by the lack of communication. They had been chatting pretty well in the hospital on her visits. But what suddenly changed.

"Oh right, I guess it slipped my mind… Shell, I probably don't have your number after I had to change my phones" He was definitely embarrassed he had been screwing up this much. He rummaged quickly for his squid shaped phone, though as he got it out she snatched it from him.

"It's fine, I can add myself so it's all good" she hummed to herself as she tapped away at his phone. Oliver was merely looking on as he stretched his arms.

"So you two are siblings?" figured to bring Oliver into the conversation was the least Arthur could do.

"Yeah, living with her since I moved up to the surface. Dad wouldn't like it if he knew I had gone to the surface" the Octoling boy answered. He was pretty direct with his response as Octavia finished with Arthur's phone and handed it back to him.

"Yeah, I figured with this new found peace more Octolings would be coming up. He included, but I've been doing my best for all of us" she offered a cheerful smile. Though the expression Oliver gave her was a concerned one. She had a lot more on her shoulders then just helping her little brother out.

"That would be a nice thing to see. I mean, I've always hated war" Arthur commented as he checked the time.

"I should be going though. I've got a lot to do" the inkling had a point as his original goal was to get some groceries but got distracted.

"Oh, that's fine. We were going to see if we can go see someone as well" Octavia knew to move into a new place was a such a pain.

"Though, if ya get the chance to give me a call. I wouldn't mind coming over and seeing how you are. Be nice to get some personal time together" she smiled with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Later you two" Arthur smiled and waved as he walked off. Octavia and Oliver both waved back and went on their own way. He had nearly forgotten about Octavia. She was a nice gal he had to admit. She had a pretty big heart once ya got to know her. Heck, she visited him several times just to learn about humanity and keep him from not going crazy from boredom. Why would he forget her? "You seriously going to call her back?" there was that voice again. Arthur was passing by an outdoor art exhibit. A wall that had a flowing water making a mirror on the wall. His reflection of his human self-scowling at him.

"I don't see why not. They're good people" Arthur retorted doing his best to ignore it.

"Oh, good people? Are not all people like that before they stab you in the back?" the voice kept up with him in the wall as Arthur walked on.

"Come on, you know why she kept you around so much. She wanted to make sure she could as much information about the past as possible. And that bloody AI off ya, Oracle" the voice continued as Arthur sighed stopping his walking.

"She used you mate. Let's not fool ourselves. She's just a stupid octopus just happening to be in the right place at the right time. Then using it to milk it for all it's worth." the voice still spoke as it watched Arthur pull his phone out seeing her contact still open.

"Go on, let's remove her before she takes more. Who knows what will be next… Your soul?" the voice was getting more sinister with its words and tone. Arthur thinks for a moment and puts his phone back into his pocket. He takes makes a quick turn and taking a step back away from the reflection looking as though he was looking at another person behind him.

"No. I've made my decision. Though I was asleep when my future was thrown away, that does not mean I should tarnish someone's future cause of it" he had been listening to this voice off and on and it had been getting on his nerves.

"Tarnish? And throw away the potential we can still do! We can do a lot more then what you think. Imagine we can still bring humanity back. You know where and how to get to Eden" the voice continued but Arthur was not having it.

"I don't care. We tried. And things didn't work out. Let's accept this and move on. The most I can do is give them a chance to do better. Become better then what we were. I know they can do it" Arthur was becoming sterner with his choice and decision in life at this point. This was the second start for him, a chance that no one ever gets.

"But we could-"  
"ENOUGH. This Conversation is over" Arthur swung his hand against the water destroying the reflection of his human self in the water. His normal reflection would return as the Inkling he was now.

"I've made my mind up. I know I failed in my past life. But I'm not letting that control me" he was keeping himself straight on what he wanted to do with his life. With that, he turned towards the way he was heading and continued to the grocery store. Though the reflection came back and lingered. The voice spoke to itself not paying mind to Arthur and his own thoughts.

"This is not over" the reflection faded as the voice became distorted as it vanished.

"You sure we're at the right place sis?" Oliver was a bit unsure about his sister and directions. He wasn't expecting a mansion on the end of the suburbs.

"Oracle told me this was the right place. He looked it up before coming" Octavia was confident in herself that she did this right.

"I still don't trust that AI as much as you do sis" his concerned voice was still there as her bag began to shake. It took a few moments but a floating Octo looking robot came out. It had very small tentacles but those could extend to help manipulate items.

"I am certain I have led Ms. Octavia to her proper location Oliver. I understand that the software I am still developing can be riddled with holes to follow information that your species have both for Inklings and Octolings" Oracle turned to look at Oliver, he was the floating robot which was easy to tell.

"Yeah, I hear you but still..."

"I understand your stance on AIs is shaky and it's understandable so I do not take any hard feelings for a critic. However, I need someone to be hard on me. Hard to spot errors if everyone is being easy on me" the AI added a small compliment to try offsetting the uneasiness. As they were talking, Octavia was heading up to a gate that went up to the house. Though it was closed with a little intercom on a small post.

"Alright you two give me a moment" as she said this, she went up to the intercom and pressed the on the button.

"Hello? Is anyone home?" she asked politely hoping to get a response. She got a response alright.

"YO! Mc Princess here, aka Pearl. Who dis?" the inkling idol came through the intercom. Octavia should have expected nothing less considering this was her home.

"Yes Ms. Pigmy, I am asking if Marina was in by chance" she kept her polite tone as one could hear the eyebrow raise from Pearl in her voice.

"Marina? She is in yah, but she ain't seein anyone we were just gonna start workin on some sweet beats" Pearl came back quickly as Octavia was thinking and nods.

"Sis, she's busy we can do this another time" Oliver commented as he just watched his sis.

"Oh, I apologize. Do let Marina know Engineer Octavia is waiting outside for her if you could" she moved her finger off the intercom button as she steps back.

"Alright, I'll remember that. Thanks bye" Pearl left the intercom and went to find Marina in their sound studio.

"So what now Ms. Octavia?" Oracle was the first to speak up as Oliver brushed off his hat.

"We wait" she smiled happily as she shifted her bag onto her other shoulder.

"Wait?! We could be out here for hours sis… But we're not doing anything else at this moment" Oliver made a good point. They were just doing this out of curiosity.

"I think we won't have to wait long" Octavia smiled as it didn't take long. Only about five minutes after talking to Pearl the intercom popped on.

"Octavia? Is that really you?" Marina's voice could be heard over the intercom this time. The female Octoling smiled as she pressed the intercom button.

"Yes Ms. Ida it's me, you sound a lot cheerier then last I remember you. But I like that" Octavia was just happy to hear her friend's voice.

"Oh my goodness, it is you! Come on please" Marina's happiness could be heard through the intercom as the gates began to open.

"H-Hey! What about the practice?" Pearl could be heard in the background through the intercom.

"We could do it after they're gone. We got all night" Marina assured before turning her com off.

"Well, that went better than expected" Oliver was actually surprised they got in. He knew Marina was an Idol so the chances of them to meet them in private would be a challenge.

"Best to enjoy the stay and be respectful" Oracle was quick to float near Octavia and stayed close. The AI was no more than 7 inches long and about 5 inches wide at it's widest point. Octavia went on through the gates as Oliver followed as well.

"Mmmm! It's so good to see you again Octavia and you too Agent 8" Marina was all giddy to see her old childhood engineering friend. Giving Octavia a hug as she smiled. She wore a simple pale yellow tank top with a pair of green sweatpants.

"Yeah, why didn't cha say you were related and had Agent 8 with ya?" Pearl was kicking it back in a seat in one of the storage rooms that acted like one of several socializing rooms. The inkling had a white t-shirt with some brand logo on it that she endorsed at one point. She also wore pink short shorts. She was lacking her crown.

"I wasn't sure if Oliver was coming with more or not so I never consider that approach my apology" Octavia took a seat on a sofa with Oliver. Oracle floated around the two visiting Octos.

"I mean we get lots of company over at times but seeing ya know Agent 8 and he's a pretty cool Octo. You guys cool coming over at any time" Pearl smiled as she kicked her feet up on a footrest.

"Just Oliver, please. You two don't have to keep calling me Agent 8" He was being modest with himself as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah yeah I'll try to not forget homie. So, we both know who Agent – I mean, Oliver. So who's the chick?" Pearls gaze changed to Marina as she took a small sigh.

"This is Octavia. Octo Engineer and rising leader of the Octolings. She and Oliver are both children of DJ Octavio" Marina knew this too well given her amazing aptitude of technology gave her some interesting opportunities. She met Octavia very early before she lost her mother during an excavation after Oliver was born.

"No WAY! You mean those two are like Royalties?! Yo Agent 8! Why didn't you tell us befo-Oh that's right you lost your memory. Whoops" Pearl was a tad too quick to jump in but caught herself. If only she was this sharp while on the air.

"In a way yes. We got the best training father could give us. We were given high responsibilities given our talents we could do" Octavia informed further as Octavia agreed.

"Yes, we all were trained indeed. But we were all tested at regular points to see how we were doing. Tested early on to see where we would be best suited and then pushed in that direction. If we failed a test at any point, we were re-evaluated and sent back to square one. If we couldn't make it… Well, those that didn't make it just did little work and were forced to keep cutting their tentacles at a faster rate to make Octarians" Marina added as she squirmed at the last parts.

"Yes I know it's terrible honestly. Though I hope this all changes cause of the Treaty" Octavia was keeping her smile strong as Marina looked concerned seeing her.

"Yeah I heard you got that done as of late, it's wonderful really. We can finally put that whole grudge behind us" Marina smiled clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, no more conflicts and all that music and who knows what else we can get from it" Pearl was pretty excited from this as well. Oliver in the meantime was working on his phone. Though Marina's smile dropped as she considered a few things.

"But… I used to remember the only time you ever bothered me was when you were unsure about something" Marina was indeed a kind of person to keep to herself except when around Pearl. But she remembered how Octavia was. She was the oldest of the two siblings. So she had a much greater responsibility to her people as the potential heir to DJ Octavio.

"So what's really going on?" a concerned tone came from Marina as Octavia sighed. Her hands were on her lap and clenched into fists.

"I'll be honest with you two, the Treaty is a joke" she hung her head down as she said this as Off the Hook looked surprised.

"Wait wha? But didn't ya just say you got that done?" the pink haired inkling raised an eyebrow as she watched the visiting Octo gal.

"It's paper thin at best. I was only able to debate it politically with other legislators as of late. It allowed us, as a people, a chance so we can leave the domes and find somewhere we can live. The domes are under poor repair as father has been so focused on Inkling focused 'Terrorism' as the politicians called it" Then again she was no better to come to think of it. Heck, she tried to sabotage a splatfest several years ago following her father's example.

"Because of his actions, Politics were going to slap racial laws on us Octolings which would have sent a major tension through the people. We're already at a breaking point in the people. I'm trying to keep everyone together. I have half of the population still under my father's ideas and a half that have started accepting Inkling culture and coming to the surface. This division if not resolved could result in a civil war which then could erupt into another all-out war" she was unloading her own issues that she was trying to hold up.

"I've gotta be strong. But, I can't have father going on one of his wild antics of Inkling hate. I was able to debate this effectively with others. If race laws were thrown down onto those Octolings coming to the surface, there would be a higher chance of the treaty being stripped apart. Which the victor would possibly turn their aggression into themselves. Or the internal revolution occurs and the victor would be attacking Inklings actively. All out war. They agreed they didn't want to risk a war due to social tensions. But asked me to try convincing my father to lay off or do something about him" she finished speaking for now as Marina nods.

"I knew you liked to take on a lot. But I wasn't aware the load had grown to this degree" Marina was definitely concerned as she was thinking.

"Dang, and I thought having problems with fanboys ogling Marina all the time was a problem" Pearl added which flustered Marina.

"P-Pearlie!" she couldn't help that she was just made the way she was.

"What it's true ya know. Still, this is some serious stuff" Pearl was quick to get back on topic.

"I mean is there any way you could resolve this peacefully?"

"The only way would be to talking to my dad. I mean, he mentioned some Inkling one time named Cuttlefish" Marina and Octavia were talking to each other as Pearl smiled.

"That old bag of sick words? Yeah, we know of him. Hey, ya think getting those two to talk would make things easy?" Pearl was quick to suggestion as Octavia was a tad confused.

"Who is Cuttlefish if I may ask?" she seemed to have missed some things in her history as she didn't pay mind to her brother who was struggling with his phone. It was acting up suddenly but he was trying to get it to work again.

"Captain Cuttlefish, founder, and leader of the Squid Beacon Splatoon. His Splatoon was there during the Great Turf War. Best I could tell is the two knew each other. Plus maybe we can get them to talk. We could probably get them to try working out their differences" Marina informed and possibly giving an idea of what to do.

"I think that would work out. But still where is DJ Octavio?" Octavia still hadn't gotten that answer though.

"Last I heard he was being held in a snow globe in Octo Canyon keeping him locked up for a time. I think this time they made sure to make that globe harder to bust into" Pearl remembered one of the Agents saying this. Octavia looked quite unsettled.

"A Snow Globe?! You must be joking."

"She actually isn't. I've seen him already. At least he's being well fed but I suppose it was the only way of keeping an eye on him" Marina confirmed what Pearl said to Octavia. Octavio's daughter sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You've got to be shelling me. Alright, how difficult would it be for them to meet up this weekend? I'd rather this not float too long. If my father can be amenable to the treaty it would help solidify it" Octavia was hoping it would end well.

"I don't see why not, we can just get a hold of Cuttlefish and bring to the Canyon before our shift so they can talk. There is a Splatfest this weekend" Marina gave a soft smile as she noticed Oliver eying his phone oddly.

"Something wrong Oliver?" she added quickly as Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Phone has been acting up past few minutes. Ugh, I'm shutting it off" Oliver got tired of it and turned the phone off.

"Unusual, we just got that phone for you last week" Oracle added with Pearl looking at the floating AI.

"Huh, so you do talk. I figured you were just an ornament or something" the Inkling sat back up watching the AI.

"Yes, I do speak. I apologize for not introducing myself, I am Oracle. Just a simple AI meant to help others with daily routines. I'm just a prototype and not up for sale" the AI said a white lie as Pearl nods.

"That's quite a feat making an AI Octavia. Though yeah we wouldn't be able to keep an eye on Captain Cuttlefish when he meets with DJ. We have a Splatfest to host that night" Marina felt a tad bad being unable to help further. Wait wasn't that splatfest…

"If I am not mistaken this weekend's Splatfest is Squids vs. Octopus, which is better. I feel given the current social tensions this is a rather sensitive subject" Oracle was pretty keen at noting this oddity.

"Yeah, but we're not the ones that come up with that stuff. Blame the stupid managers and think engines for coming up with these themes. But they tend to follow what we do like though" Pearl grimaced as she looked to Marina.

"I know I'm for Squid, but I'm still happy to have met a good Octoling friend like Marina" the inkling gave her a smile as Marina teared up a little.

"Awww Pearlie. And I'm just glad to have met you too" the happiness could be heard in the DJ Octoling's voice. Octavia smiled and checked the time.

"We should be heading out, oh here have my number," Octavia wrote it down quickly on a scrap paper and handed it to Marina.

"Just to keep in touch and all" Marina took the paper with a smile as she nods.

"I will Octavia thank you" with that she got up and gave a hug to Octavia as Marina looked over at Oliver.

"Oh why not" she went over and gave him a hug as well. Oliver's cheeks went red as he was hugged and it took a few seconds before he would hug back.

"Yeah, erm have a nice night" he looked to Octavia would begin to head out with her. Oracle followed behind the two leaving Octolings. It would turn around and give a small bow to the two idols to be respectful. Once outside, Octavia gave a sigh of relief.

"Finally, we may be able to resolve this entire fissure in our society. We could put this whole misunderstanding and dislike for each other behind us" Octavia sounded happy with this weight coming off her shoulders.

"Yeah that would be good" Oliver supported the notion with his sister. She went a bit ahead leaving him and Oracle in the back.

"Let's get some ice cream to celebrate" she smiled as her pace hastened.

"Yeah! Wait up!" Oliver sighed as he was slowly running out of energy. Oracle stayed close sensing things maybe a miss.

"Don't push yourself too much Oliver" Oracle's voice indicate minor concern as Oliver was mostly fine.

"I'll be fine though seeing we're alone. Could I ask a question? You AIs, you guys can interact with any electronic right?" the boy looked at the floating AI as it nods.

"We can interact with anything so long as we have a way to interface with the electronics in question. Why do you ask?" Oracle was a tad curious why the question.

"I was wondering that, cause when my phone was acting up. I'm not sure, I think someone was watching us" he commented as Oracle looked puzzled.

"Watching us? Are you quite sure?" the AI wasn't too sure honestly. A big leap to make, to say the least.

"Well, I was playing a game that was glitching out. So explain why did the camera come on suddenly and begin focusing on me?" Oliver shivered a bit as he had that feeling. An old feeling he had of being watched. This Splatfest was going to be one not to forget.


	4. Chapter 4

"Ya, sure it was a wise idea to bring Billy along?" It was Splatfest time, the hotly debated Splatfest. Which are better, Squids or Octopus? Arthur was walking with Mark his neighbor and his Salmonoid roommate Billy. Mark had a 'Team Squid' shirt on with a heavy splatling he was carrying.

"He'll be fine. I explained he couldn't bring his skillet with him, but finds the music from Off the Hook nice to dance to" Mark assured as Billy smiled if a Salmonoid could smile.

"Yeee, Hook ladies got gud music. I like to bounce to it and wave my glowy skillets" Billy was wearing a badly made 'Team Skillet' shirt with two glow sticks that were put together to make them look like skillets.

"Well, at least he's enjoying himself" Arthur smiled as he hadn't picked a side yet. Or well, he probably wasn't going to. He was just there just to be there. Get out of his apartment. A lively Splatfest may help raise his spirits. He already took his treatment and had another treatment in his messenger bag ready to go if need be.

"MUSIC!" Billy was already bouncing a bit hearing a bit of music as they were going down to the plaza. The night was rolling in fast and the lights could be seen from afar. Outside the plaza, there were several food vendors lining the street though, the best food truck was always in the plaza.

"So still trying to decide on a side Arthur?" Mark looked over to his Inkling neighbor who sighed.

"Yeah, but I would need to get a new ink tank after I got rid of my last one. And I have been so busy with moving I haven't even bothered getting a new one." This was true for Arthur as he was doing all the work on his own. Mark would always offer some help but would decline til food was brought over.

"It's okay I ain't gonna force ya to pick a side. Though wait, wouldn't you need to take another one of those shots if you get worked up too much from turfing or dancing?" this was a small revelation Mark had as he did get the story of why Arthur needed those shots.

"Probably thus why I'll probably just hang around in the plaza" Arthur was going to try sticking to that plan. He could always check in with Sheldon to get another ink tank if he decided to go back turfing.

"Alright, well we're here" the music had gotten loud enough from Off the Hook's performance Mark was shouting.

"Alright! Good luck out there!" Arthur was heading for the crowd as he figured looking around and trying to at least dance maybe a nice thing to do. He was in the back so in case he had to take a break he could grab a table to sit at. He watched Billy just dive bomb in and began dancing around waving his glow stick pans around happily. It was funny to watch as Arthur grooved on just swaying back and forth. Though the only thing he could say he was happy about the other day was the fact he resolved himself. He was sitting on the edge of just throwing away this new society. He couldn't just do that. He would be no better than his own kin that started wars on belief. Acceptance was needed and understanding. Tolerance most of all to allow others to grow. To him, he was the last of humanity. True humanity from a human. But he was seeing the bits of humanity that shimmered in everyone he's met in their own way. He couldn't just ignore it.

The night wore on and the music was still as good as before. Though as he danced he noticed several Octolings coming around him wearing splatfest shirts. All for Team Octopus so all seemed well. Though they were wearing vintage Octo Goggles as one bumped up to him.

"Oh my apology, a lot of good music out here isn't it?" the Octoling asked, it was a chick as another bumped up against him. The other was a male.

"Oops sorry" they were friendly, to say the least as the male Octoling apologized.

"It's fine we're all here together having fun so it's no biggie" Arthur tried to tell both of them.

"True, hey mind if we get a photo with ya? We have a spare pair of goggles if ya want to try them on. Oh, they're disabled so it's nothing you should worry about" the gal Octoling asked as she pulled a camera out and a pair of goggles. Though the eyepiece on this one looked like the inside of lenses meaning the center portion could expand and contract just like a pupil. It felt alright as he nods.

"Sure I don't mind" Arthur smiled as he took the goggles from the gal and put them on. He could see quite nicely through them.

"Wow, these things are neat. Didn't know these goggles were so cool to look through" his nativity and curiosity got the better of him. As he looked at the large screen TVs around the place, they all changed to his human face. The face smiled looking at him.

"Good night, Arthur Fate" the voice that came from the faces were not his own. It was…! Before Arthur could reach to grab the goggles, the male Octoling grabbed both of Arthur's hands and held them behind his back pinning him. A sharp pain could be felt through his mind. What was going on? Why was he getting so sleepy? He was struggling and before he could say anything, the female Octoling put a chock into his mouth to muffle his cries. It wasn't long before his struggles ceased. His harsh breathing became leveled. Chilled even. The purple pupil of the goggles turned red as the lens began to expand and contract. As if calibrating for new settings.

"Alright, let him go" the female Octoling stated as the male lets him go. The group of Octolings around them was all dancing making a good diversion to keep people unaware of the deed done. Once the male Octoling had let Arthur go, he staggered for a moment but got his balance. Soon standing tall he looked at his hands, opening and closing them as a sly cool smile.

"Are you alright sir?" the female asked as 'Arthur' looked at her.

"I am. The sync work and now I'm in full control. Now we can carry on with our plans. Have we gotten any word of the location of Captain Cuttlefish?"

"Yes, we have seen him going into Octo Canyon not too long ago. Both targets are in place" the female reported diligently.

"And the charges?"

"They are in place sir"

"Good, then let us begin. These lifeforms will learn what happens when they interfere with a 12,000-year-old AI" Oculus bore his teeth in his next smile. Arthur was no more. And half of his plan was complete.

"Are you sure those two will be alright down there?" Octavia sounded concern coming out of the ink drain that led to Octo Canyon with Oliver, Marie, and Callie. The grate came up to let Oracle fly out.

"Yeah, they should be fine down there. Octavio is locked in that Globe and I'm pretty sure Grampa wouldn't open it" Callie assured with a smile grooving already to the beats. Everyone was wearing the usual clothing that they normally wear. Aside from Oliver who had a 'Team Octopus' shirt on with a gold Dynamo with him.

"Yeah, the only thing we may have to worry is wasabi being all over the place" Marie was joking as she smiled a bit.

"Awww Come on Marie, it's not gonna be that bad" Callie was quick to retort her cousin who shrugged.

"I just hope the talk goes well," Octavia said as Oliver was looking around. He still had his gut feelings.

"I still got a weird feeling about tonight" Oliver added as the last song was finished and Pearl could be heard over the speakers.

"Hey, Inkpolois! You guys jamming it out tonight?!" the short inkling shouted it from her mic as people shouted a collective 'Great!'. She smiled hearing this as Marina was setting up the next tracks. Though she caught an Octoling from the corner of her eye. They darted right behind the stage. She looked real quick. But her expression went sour seeing something that made her concerned.

"Awesome to hear! Ya know what time it is people! Map Rotation time, hit me up those rotations Marina!" Though as Pearl said this the screens began to flicker. Then suddenly the lights went off in the entire plaza. The Great Zapfish was even startled by this and began to move off the tower. The group moved away from the ink drain as they looked around the plaza. Others out there including Inklings and Octolings were confused.

"Hey, Marina what's going on?" Pearl turned to look at Marina who saw all her stuff went dead.

"Power went out Pearlie and I got a bad feeling about this" Marina was quickly packing her laptop up into a computer bag as the screens came up. The screens were red at first and then changed to just being a circle.

"People of Inkpolis, all of the insects that can hear me. Your time has come to a close. Empires are not built in unity, they are built on top of the corpses of those they dominate. Much as your pathetic Splatfests are like. Domination of one side over the other for simple little things" the voice was a machine but there was a familiar voice in it. Two familiar voices.

"What in the world?" Octavia was staring as she was being filled with dread. Callie looked onward at the screen til she heard something shaking. She looked to her side to see Oliver shaking as his hand gripped his roller.

"Oliver, are you alright?" Callie asked concerned as he shakes his head.

"It's _him_ " his voice was quivering as he said it.

"Let this be the Mark of the end. The end is nigh. Oculus has returned" the voice laughed at the end and as it did, explosions could be heard. Explosions from the tower itself. Marina heard the first explosion and immediately jumped down grabbing Pearl. The stage also was blown up as the tower began to fall! The tower was falling!

"RUN! GO GO!" Marie was shouting as she was motioning for people to run as she started to run away. The dust from the collapse was enormous as everyone was coughing.

"What in the name of Cod was that?!" Octavia shouted as Oracle was just watching on.

"I believe this was a terrorist attack" Oracle could only deduce that.

"Ah! The girls! Marina and Pearl are under that rubble!" Callie was quick to go over and tried to move some of the rubble. She could see the crown Pearl had one on the ground and assumed.

"Billy help help! Aaaaa!" Billy also came rushing in as he tried digging.

"H-Hey! Careful!" Octavia came rushing over and began digging too, lucky both Pearl and Marina were just trapped in an open space so they were only cut.

"Oh thank the heavens you're alright" Marie helped Marina up, Billy was pulling Pearl out and helping her up.

"Hey, thanks, little fish" Pearl smiled though looked pretty scuffed up. Marina's back looked bad as she was cut up by shrapnel trying to protect Pearl.

"Yay! Billy do good!" Billy was ecstatic to help. Though Oliver grabbed his sister's arm.

"Come on! We got bigger problems!" Oliver didn't get far with his sister not budging much.

"Brother! Hold up! We need to get our head together. We need to make sure people are safe and-"

"This is a diversion"Oliver's voice went stern as his sister fell quiet. The others were looking at him too while Billy went away trying to help others.

"Who's currently left unguarded right now?" with that Oliver made a dash for the ink drain. He slides in like a baseball player and drops in as an Octo.

"Wait, you two left Agents 3 and 4 down there right?" Octavia was concerned still about her father and Cuttlefish.

"Well yes, we did… Wait if this is a diversion… Shell they're outmatched. Come on! We got a bigger fish to fry up!" Marie was soon running as well as Octavia followed after Marie.

"Hey, you two stay here, just try to be safe okay?" Callie quickly left Off the Hook to follow after the whole fiasco.

"AAAHH!" a blood-curdling scream could be heard from Agent 3 as her two tentacles were pulled back behind her and her arms restrained. There was a good 15 Octos there and doing a good job securing the area. Agent 4 was already down having been pistol-whipped to keep her down. Agent 3 was putting up more of a fight.

"Does it hurt when I tell them to do that?" Oculus asked as the two octos holding her arms and head tentacles pulled a bit more. Agent 3 screamed as she was hissing.

"Coward! You have others do your dirty work! Ugly rear fin!" Captain Cuttlefish was still talking as he was being held at gunpoint. Several Octos were working to get the glove opened up though to get Octavio out.

"A coward? Hmmm, you are mistaken. I enjoy watching. But seeing you insist" Oculus walked up to Agent 3 with her head held up and roundhouse kicks her face sending her to the floor quivering. Soft sobs could be heard, muffled by her ink.

"Dislocated jaw, she'll be out of commission for a while. Pathetic" the AI turned to look at the two old fellows and approached.

"Sir, shall we call for the transports?" one of the Octolings asked.

"Yes, start evac. We shouldn't need this many now. 10 of you head back, the other 5 stay" Oculus gave the order and the Octo nods.

"Understood. Roll out!" and with no issue, 10 of them ran off into the Canyon to go to a pickup point.

"Would you kindly get onto your knees Captain?" Oculus looked at Cuttlefish and was given a mean look.

"I kneel to no one!" but as soon as he said that, the soldier next to him shoved him down as Octavio could only watch.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you? You're an Inkling, not an Octoling! I demand to know why you have my technology!" DJ Octavio was furious inside his globe as Oculus looked at the red blob.

" _Your_ technology? Last I remembered I gave you those blueprints when your people started snooping inside of my folders" the AI remarked as the DJ and Captain looked stunned.

"Then you are..."

"AI Oculus of the Terraformer. Humanity's last hope. Yes, I am he. I was the one that caused your Great Turf War raising the sea levels. I am the one that hacked your precious goggles to steal some of your men and women. I am the one that led you all to try using the Terraformer to cause a Genocide. But every time I've found one or both of you in my way" Oculus smiled at the end.

"But tonight, that ends" with that one of the Octolings handed him a revolver. Looked modified to hold a special ammo.

"You're a damn tin can fool! You think your stupid words are gonna stop us from beating you? We've taken on AI down so you think we can't do it again?" Captain Cuttlefish mocked as Oculus pulled the hammer back on the revolver.

"I'm not using words fool" without much warning Oculus pointed the gun at Cuttlefish and shot him right in the chest. Cuttlefish lurched backward from the impact as he felt the ammo working on him.

"AAH! That, AAH! What is aaaaAAAAHHH!" Cuttlefish was soon curling up from the immense pain he was experiencing.

"Interesting what salt does to the body no? I did a little study on an Octoling one time. I found that both of your species can't handle or tolerate salt. The salt disrupts your cells so they can't hold together. So have fun bleeding out just from being to… Salty" Oculus smiled as he merely watched. Captain Cuttlefish convulsed a few more times though, his breathing became shallow and harsh til finally, he loosened up. His breathing stopped and he laid there… Motionless.

"You Animal! And what was your goal with that?" as Octavio said this the globe was open and he was thrown out but not before Octavio grabbed one of the Octolings and removed the goggles throwing them to the side. But when he did so, it became apparent that the goggles also took a part of the Octos face off. And sadly, it was the goggles now making the body run. The body remained motionless where it landed.

"What… What have you done to them?! You Inkling scum!" Octavio was shouting at the AI as he moved to the next shot.

"I made them into perfect working machines what else? And I still have one more business to deal with" Oculus began to point the gun at Octavio. Though a ting sound could be heard as a Splatbomb was between the two of them and detonates. It threw Oculus back and Octavio, even reverting him to a human form.

"THE EXIT! Guard it!" Oculus barked as the remaining 4 ran over to the grate. But as they did, Oliver popped out swinging his roller like a bat hooking all 4 soldiers and sending them flying. Easy splats for a trained guy like him.

"Hands off my father!" Oliver was not one to be played with as he was going for another swing to hit Oculus with his own ink. Though Oculus was quicker at the trigger and shot purposely missing a body shot and grazed Oliver's right shoulder. The Octoling immediately reeled unable to hold the roller which was all the AI needed. He rushed the staggered ex-soldier and tackled him.

"Still the same weakling I left you as last I remembered it took 3 shots to stagger you, not one" he taunted but as Oliver tried to counter, Oculus threw the boy away.

"Oliver! We're coming!" Marie's voice could be heard in from the grate as she came out along with Octavia and Callie. Oculus hissed as he had only one shot left and his gun jammed after he did that tackle.

"Lucky break" he looked back to Octavio as he pulled an Ink Mist out and threw it down to choke up people. The three girls coughed as they struggled to get out but when they did they gave a sigh of relief.

"What in the world happened to her-?! GRANDPA!" Callie was the first to look over to see Cuttlefish on the ground curled up in a puddle of his own ink. She rushed over and tried checking him.

"Grandpa? Gran-Grandpa?! No, no, NO, NO! Please Wake up! Grandpa!" she tried to touch him but nothing was working as she tried harder and harder to poke him awake. But he was already gone. The more Callie tried, the more tears started to stream down her face. Marie rushed over grabbing Callie and holding her close.

"HE'S DEAD MARIE! HE KILLED HIM!" Callie was bawling like a child while Marie was trying to keep herself together too. Oliver was slowly getting back on his feet checking Agent 4 who was still out cold. He checked her head.

"Shell, Agent 4 was pistol-whipped. She's breathing but she's out cold" Oliver reported as Oracle did a scan of Agent 3.

"Just lay still miss, you have a dislocated jaw bone. I'm calling emergency services now. Agent 3 is suffering from a dislocated jaw. Her arms were nearly dislocated though" Oracle reported as Octavia went to her father. DJ Octavio looked a lot different as a human as he stood up. He was actually wearing a hoodie and pants with his crown on his head still. Seems the crown shrinks and grows when changing forms.

"Father what happened?!" Octavia asked as she was trying to get her head in the clear.

"My daughter Octavia here to rescue m-"

"Cut the carp dad. We need answers and now!" Octavia was not taking it from her father as the bearded fellow narrowed his eyes to her.

"That Inkling came down here accompanied by you and the two Agents on the ground. We were having a debate over music and then out of nowhere we had Octolings around and attacked. And what you see here, is what happened. Seems Inklings are still fools for not taking the AI threat seriously" Octavio remarked as his daughter grits her teeth.

"Okay but why? Why you two?"

"I would imagine it's because of our knowledge of the AIs and their tech. But I'm fine while him not so much. Still soft skinned Inklings, fools" Octavio was giving no sympathy.

"You mind? We just lost someone dear you big rear fin" Marie was quick to start tearing into Octavio as she was tearing herself.

"Maybe we'll get a better replacement for him. I know that we need to protect our people at this point. Octavia could you-"

"Our people? _OUR PEOPLE_?! You mean the people you've brainwashed, left in poverty, force them into starvation?! Why? Because of a Turf War 100 years ago that you can't get over!?" Octavia was having enough of her father's own antics and decisions. She had to carry this burden he's neglected.

"Oh? And you would rather deal with those cheating Inklings then? I tried protecting you from them. Keeping you all safe!" Octavio was becoming defensive about his daughter's defiance to follow orders.

"So brainwashing is what you want from us? Mindless robots to do your bidding? That's not how this works. It's never how it worked. I have been trying to make peace and help our people so we are not starving down in the domes. And it's slowly working. But I can't take it anymore" she was becoming frustrated quickly as Octavio crossed his arms and smiled.

"Inklings are hard to work with, they're the real enemies" he added as Octavia bit back with her words.

"No, Oculus is. That AI just harmed a lot of Inklings and Octolings along with many others when he brought the tower down in the Plaza. This thing means business and we have to start mobilizing against it".

"And yet you don't even know where it is heading" Octavio was fairly smug about his statement.

"Eden. Oculus would be heading to Eden. If my analysis is correct with the audio he gave. He's somehow taken over Arthur and using his body. If that's true, Oculus would have neural paths to get the memories to have passcodes to use Eden" Oracle injected as Octavio raised an eyebrow.

"And what does this Eden do?" the DJ turned it's focus to the small floating octo bot.

"Eden was designed to grow organisms. Originally meant as a re-population system to bringing back extinct species killed by the rapid climate change and virus. Which I can assume was a note inside of your reports as I helped Octavia put those reports together. If Oculus wishes to make a Bioweapon, that is where he'll go" Oracle ended as Octavia looked back to her father having watched Oracle speak too.

"See, that AI can unleash something that we could not fight back against. He is our number one threat right now. We need to work with Inklings now to try neutralizing-"

"Wait, you're suggesting help from those stealing Inklings?!" Octavio cut his daughter off as she just watched him in disbelief.

"I refuse to help the enemy!" Octavio was stern with his response as this was hitting a boiling point for Octavia.

"So let me get this straight. You would rather make an old grudge on a turf war result be a bigger issue than a world killing rogue AI with the powers to do so?"

"I am your ruler! I am your father! You are to do as YOU ARE TOLD! Now get an extrac-OPH!" a loud smack could be heard that seemed to echo the entire canyon. Within moments DJ Octavio was on the ground with his crown thrown to the side off his head. Octavia had slapped her father hard enough to throw him down that hard. Octavia was tearing up as she was shaking.

"DJ Octavio. By law, a ruler that is shown to be unable to distinguish a threat to their people and a non-threat is unfit to rule. A law you wrote in after mother passed away. She would never have allowed what you did to us to have happened" her cheeks were wet with the tears running down her face as she took the crown from him.

"Special forces soldier Oliver. Can you confirm which is the larger threat? Oculus or Inklings?" she turned looking at her brother. He knew what was happening and nods.

"AI Oculus is the larger threat. Inklings are not a threat" Oliver responded as she looks to Oracle.

"Oculus must be stopped at all cost" Oracle responded without being questioned. She nods holding the crown.

"With Oliver as a witness and AI Oracle to second as a witness. I hereby find DJ Octavio unfit to rule" Octavia holds the crown in her hands as Octavio's eyes went wide.

"You, You can't do this to me! I am your father!" the old Octoling tried to stop his daughter but the crown shifted and morphed to fit on her head as she placed it on.

"You stopped being my father when you left me and brother to rot down in the domes" her voice was clear and she was not to be tried with. She knew the responsibility she had now taken. But verses her father, she knew what to do.

"Sis are you sure about this?" Oliver was just finally helping Agent 4 back on her feet as she turns and nods.

"Yes, I am sure. I don't want my people to die from that AI. And I don't want my newfound Inkling friends harmed either from it" she turns to Oracle.

"Oracle, what do we expect to find if we go to Eden?" her mind was set and had an idea what needed to be done.

"If Oculus is there now, probably getting inside and setting up defenses. It will not be easy" Oracle had a feeling what was going to be said.

"Send a message to the generals, tell them what happened here tonight, get me a location of Eden and send to them as well. Get the army ready. We are taking Eden from Oculus" yup so this was going to be a military operation.


End file.
